What You Aren’t Told About The Arm Lift, Part 2 (the good)

In the first article of this series, I discussed the negative aspects of arm lift surgeries that are often “overlooked” by women and their doctors.

Well, the good news is that arm lifts have come a long ways and are now safer than ever.

So here are the positive aspects of this procedure:

1. Low incidence of major complications: Although you can get permanent nerve damage from an arm lift, this is rare. In fact, one meta review (a giant analysis of studies) showed that 95% of complications were minor. And minor complications, although a nuisance, are nothing to be concerned about—they can be fixed quickly with modern medicine.

2. Less scarring: Depending on your particular situation, you may be a good candidate for a “minimal incision arm lift.” This is a new technique that involves incisions around the axilla (arm pit). Traditional techniques, on the other hand, involved incisions (and subsequent scarring) from the axilla all the way down to the elbow.

And even if you don’t qualify for this new technique, most scars from full blown arm lifts are not as prominent as they used to be because incisions are now made towards the inner back part of your arm—an area where scarring is less visible.

Just to be on the safe side, though, make sure that your prospective surgeon is well versed in modern techniques.

3. Quantity of removed tissue: On average, you can expect to have about 463 grams of fat removed. Now 463 grams is roughly equal to one pound. And one pound of fat takes up a little more space than the averaged size coffee mug.

So imagine having a “coffee mug” amount of volume removed from your arms—it’s a lot.

4. The only solution for overgrown skin: There is a point of no return where no amount of exercise and diet can get rid of excess skin. You see, when skin gets stretched for prolonged periods of time, new skin cells begin to grow. And once you have grown new skin, you can’t burn it off with exercise the same way you would burn off fat.

The good news is that most women wishing to tone their arms have NOT reached this point yet.

5. Flexible payment plans: Given the state of the economy, many surgeons are offering flexible payment plans so that the procedure is more accessible. Thus, even though arm lifts aren’t covered by insurance and can be costly, you should be able to work something out with your surgeon.

Now even though arm lifts are safer than ever, I strongly recommend that you try exercise and diet first. Only consider an arm lift as a last resort. After all, surgery is a serious process that no woman should take lightly.

In any case, if you do decide to move forward with the procedure, please make sure that your surgeon is up to date with all the new techniques. The last thing you want is a giant scar running from your arm pit to your elbow because of an outdated procedure!